Inside the Phillies with MLB.com beat writer Todd Zolecki

Madson Injury Won’t Rattle Hamels

Cole Hamels’ head dropped the moment he heard former teammate Ryan Madson needs Tommy John surgery.

“That’s terrible,” he said. “That’s terrible.”

Madson signed a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the Reds in the offseason after he could not find the multiyear deal he wanted. He hoped to have a fantastic season in Cincinnati then get the big money contract next winter.

That will not happen now.

Hamels finds himself in a similar situation as Madson. He is scheduled to become a free agent following the season. If he has a big season and hits the free agent market, there is speculation he could earn more than $120 million. Of course, he also has to remain healthy the entire year to make that happen.

Hamels said today at JetBlue Park that Madson’s injury does not affect his feelings regarding free agency (i.e. he’s not going to have his agent John Boggs call Ruben Amaro Jr. to have him sign a club-friendly deal).

“No, because I think I’ve had some serious injuries with breaking arms and having herniated discs,” Hamels said. “So what? You lose a year, but you kind of gain a year because you don’t have the wear and tear. Hopefully, Madson can look at it like that. If you’ve overcome an injury, I think you can overcome anything. Obviously, I’ve had a few, so I know how to overcome them … Obviously, you can’t help the freak accidents. Sometimes it’s just straight bad luck. But he’s got a good personality. I think he’ll be able to get through it. I don’t think he’ll be with Cincinnati any longer, but he’ll be a nice free agent for some team. Maybe he’ll come back here.”

The bigger question is would Hamels be with him?

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You said in the story “He hoped to have a fantastic season in Cincinnati then get the big money contract next winter.” If he had the fantastic season, then the Reds would have exercised the team option they had for 2013.

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